| Sky Like a Broken Clock | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | July 10, 2001 | |||
| Recorded | February 6–13, 2001, Long View Farm | |||
| Genre | Blues, country blues | |||
| Label | Rykodisc | |||
| Producer | George Howard | |||
| Kelly Joe Phelps chronology | ||||
| ||||
Sky Like a Broken Clock is an album by American blues singer and guitarist Kelly Joe Phelps, released in 2001. It reached No. 8 on the Billboard Top Blues Albums charts.
Sky Like A Broken Clock was recorded live in the studio with no overdubs. It is Phelps' first record to feature no traditional material, only his own original compositions. Phelps' first releases were essentially his voice and the voice of his slide guitar. He assembled a band and put aside the slide guitar to focus on his fingerpicking style for this release. [1]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings | [2] |
Music critic Travis Draeset wrote in his AllMusic review "The result is a set of low-key, abstract story-songs about voodoo, sin, and prostitution, with "Worn Out," the album's closer, having a lullaby-like quality. Phelps' guitar work on this album is fairly straightforward (unfortunately not featuring his signature acoustic slide)." [1]
Buzz McClain of No Depression noted the spontaneity of the recording, writing "The result is understandably raw and primitive, evocative and emotionally effective, made the more so by Phelps’ weary voice and his precise fingerpicking, which is every bit as impressive as his slide... This is a mature piece of art, made all the more poignant by the pick-up nature of an ensemble that, somehow, sounds strikingly seasoned." [3]
PopMatters critic Fred Kovey is equivocal, writing: "Phelps does everything right, but it isn’t quite enough. His style of Blues and Celtic influenced singer-songwriting has become so identified with adult contemporary that just being good isn’t enough to pull the casual fan from his torpor... Phelps is an excellent guitar player. More than anything else, his skill with an acoustic six string is what makes him special. But to appreciate his guitar playing you’ll have to listen to the songs over and over; fans may want to, but I doubt the same is true of casual listeners... It offers the pleasure of viewing a master craftsman at work, but that pleasure isn’t quite enough." [4]
All songs written by Kelly Joe Phelps.
Merle Robert Travis was an American country and western singer, songwriter, and guitarist born in Rosewood, Kentucky, United States. His songs' lyrics were often about the lives and the economic exploitation of American coal miners. Among his many well-known songs and recordings are "Sixteen Tons", "Re-Enlistment Blues", "I am a Pilgrim" and "Dark as a Dungeon". However, it is his unique guitar style, still called Travis picking by guitarists, as well as his interpretations of the rich musical traditions of his native Muhlenberg County, Kentucky, for which he is best known today. Travis picking is a syncopated style of guitar fingerpicking rooted in ragtime music in which alternating chords and bass notes are plucked by the thumb while melodies are plucked by the index finger. He was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970 and elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1977.
Fingerstyle guitar is the technique of playing the guitar or bass guitar by plucking the strings directly with the fingertips, fingernails, or picks attached to fingers, as opposed to flatpicking. The term "fingerstyle" is something of a misnomer, since it is present in several different genres and styles of music—but mostly, because it involves a completely different technique, not just a "style" of playing, especially for the guitarist's picking/plucking hand. The term is often used synonymously with fingerpicking except in classical guitar circles, although fingerpicking can also refer to a specific tradition of folk, blues and country guitar playing in the US. The terms "fingerstyle" and "fingerpicking" are also applied to similar string instruments such as the banjo.
Colin Kendall Linden is a Canadian guitarist, songwriter and record producer. Linden plays acoustic and electric guitar, specializing in slide guitar, country blues, and ragtime fingerpicking, who frequently collaborates with country and folk performers.
Tony Furtado is an American singer-songwriter, banjoist, and guitarist.
Stefan Grossman is an American acoustic fingerstyle guitarist and singer, music producer and educator, and co-founder of Kicking Mule records. He is known for his instructional videos and Vestapol line of videos and DVDs.
Kelly Joe Phelps was an American musician and songwriter. His music has been characterized as a mixture of delta blues and jazz.
Paul Curreri, an American guitarist, pianist, songwriter, and music producer born in Seattle, Washington, and raised in Richmond, Virginia. He performs mainly in the folk and blues music styles. He married songwriter-guitarist Devon Sproule in May 2005 and lived with her in Charlottesville, Virginia. They have appeared and toured together, performing duets – most famously for Valentine's Day. He now produces his wife's tracks, providing supporting instrumentation.
Pat Wictor is an American blues and folk musician, guitarist, singer-songwriter, and recording artist. Known for his ethereal style, he was nominated for Emerging Artist of the Year in 2006 by the Folk Alliance, and has released a number of solo albums. In 2010 Wictor co-founded the folk trio Brother Sun, with singer-songwriters Joe Jencks and Greg Greenway, and the band has since released two full albums and toured extensively. Wictor also has an extensive discography as a sideman, playing instruments such as lap slide guitar and dobro. He currently resides in Brooklyn, New York.
Slingshot Professionals is an album by American blues singer and guitarist Kelly Joe Phelps, released in 2003.
Further In is an album by folk singer/guitarist Greg Brown that was released in 1996.
Tap the Red Cane Whirlwind is an album by American blues singer and guitarist Kelly Joe Phelps. It reached number 11 on the Billboard Top Blues Albums.
Tunesmith Retrofit is an album by American blues/folk singer and guitarist Kelly Joe Phelps, released in 2006. It was his first recording on the Rounder label after five releases with Rykodisc. It reached #5 on the Billboard Top Blues Albums charts.
Shine Eyed Mister Zen is the third album by American blues artist Kelly Joe Phelps, released in 1999.
Roll Away the Stone is an album by American blues singer and guitarist Kelly Joe Phelps, released in 1997. It was his first release on the Rykodisc label and reached #10 on the Billboard Top Blues Albums charts.
Beggar's Oil is an EP by American blues singer and guitarist Kelly Joe Phelps, released in 2002.
Sittin' Here Pickin' the Blues is the title of a recording by American folk music and country blues artists Doc Watson and Merle Watson, released in 2004. It contains songs taken from albums that Doc and Merle recorded on the Flying Fish label in the 1980s. It contains all the songs from Pickin' the Blues, three from Doc and Merle Watson's Guitar Album, three from Red Rocking Chair and a live version of "Deep River Blues".
Western Bell is an album by American blues singer and guitarist Kelly Joe Phelps, released 2009. Unlike his previous albums, Western Bell is entirely instrumental. After five discs on Rykodisc and one for Rounder, Phelps joined Black Hen Music, a small independent record label founded in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Dave Peabody is an English singer-songwriter, blues and folk musician, record producer and photographer, active since the late 1960s, who has appeared on more than 60 albums. He is primarily known for his acoustic guitar playing, in both bottleneck and fingerpicking styles.
Brother Sinner and the Whale is an album by American blues singer and guitarist Kelly Joe Phelps, released in 2012. It was recorded in mono with only voice and guitar.
Stefan Grossman is an American acoustic fingerstyle guitarist and singer. His discography consists of 22 studio albums, 2 live albums, 12 compilations, 22 videos, and 14 collaborations with other artists. In addition, his production, compositions and guitar work have been featured on a number of albums by other artists.
